UMass Amherst: Laura Hancock, UMass Doctoral Student, Part of Winning Team in 2023 Science Policy Writing Competition

A team including Laura Hancock, a UMass Amherst doctoral student in organismic and evolutionary biology, has been selected as a first-place winner in the 2023 Science Policy Writing Competition co-hosted by the National Science Policy Network (NSPN) and Forefront.

This year’s competition invited early career scientists and engineers to submit their policy writing on a variety of topics, including digital ethics, energy, health and education. Hancock’s team’s policy brief was selected for the first-place prize among all 19 published briefs.

The team wrote about improving indoor air quality to alleviate childhood asthma in Chicago, recommending that Chicago adopt a holistic program that focuses on mitigating key indoor air pollutants to give all its children a healthy future.

“Asthma takes a massive toll on the health, financial, and educational wellness of affected children and their families,” the team writes in their brief. “Children in Chicago living in poverty have poor asthma outcomes and increased exposure to indoor air pollutants — such as pet dander, mold, and nitrogen dioxide — that can exacerbate symptoms.”

NSPN is an association that provides training and engagement opportunities in science policy for early career scientists and engineers.